Derby County boss Paul Warne has now fired a warning to Portsmouth in their pursuit of promotion.
Derby County strengthened their grip on second in League One after beating promotion rivals Bolton Wanderers on Saturday. A victory in that blockbuster clash has given the Rams a leverage of four points over third place.
With seven matches still to play, there is a long way to go before Paul Warne‘s men can celebrate promotion to the Championship, but huge strides have been taken in recent weeks.
The Rams have won their last four matches on the bounce, although the man who scored three in those games, Dwight Gayle, is now left requiring a scan after picking up a hamstring injury against Bolton.
It is likely the veteran striker could miss the final weeks of the season, but with James Collins soon to return at the start of April, that hasn’t stopped Warne from dreaming of winning the League One title.
Paul Warne fires clear message to Portsmouth in promotion race
Portsmouth have set the pace at the top of the league for quite a while and currently boast a five-point lead over Derby having accumulated 83 points from their 39 matches.
John Mousinho’s men have been the most impressive side in the division and look nailed on to finish in the top two, especially after beating promotion rivals Peterborough United last time out.
Despite posting dominance at the top, Warne has still outlined his dreams of winning his first League One title and in their current form, that is a possible task.
Derby still have to play against Pompey, travelling to Fratton Park on April 2nd. It’s a fixture that holds huge ramifications as Derby could either close the gap on their rivals or fall out of the title picture completely.
Warne has had his side grounded throughout this campaign and knows there is still a lot of football to play before their fate is decided. However, he wants his players to dream big and believe they can successfully chase down Portsmouth.
“Boringly [preparing] the same way we have from day dot really,” Warne told Derby’s official website. “46 games, we treat every game the same, we prep the same every game.
Every three points is as essential as the last. So just go for it the same way, don’t get too hyper and obviously we train hard, we’ll have a team meeting in a minute about the importance of the game and try and keep everything pretty tranquil really.
“Like we haven’t achieved anything, so we’ve still got a lot of points to play for, 21 is an excessive amount to play for plus we’re still trying to chase down Portsmouth above us. So we’ve got loads to play for and if anyone thinks we’ve achieved anything then they’re insane.”
Portsmouth vs Derby promises to be a cracker
Derby’s clash against Bolton was billed to be their most important fixture of the season, although their meeting with Portsmouth arguably carries more weight.
A win against Pompey would be enormous and depending on how other results go, Warne’s men could have one foot into the Championship.
That said, Mousinho’s men do have the strongest home record in the league and Fratton Park is a difficult place to go.
If they come out of that ultimate test with all three points, no one will back against Derby winning promotion.